Stepped garment hanger



July 11, 1961 J. M. ZUCKERMAN STEPPED GARMENT HANGER Filed April 21, 1960 INVENTOR.

JACK M. ZUCKERMAN BY /Q AT TORNE Y.

FIG. 2

States 2,991,919 Patented July 11, 1961 2,991,919 STEPPED GARMENT HANGER Jack Morris Zuckerman, Bronx, N .Y. (9425 57th Ave., Elmhurst, N.Y.) Filed Apr. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 23,734 4 Claims. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates to garment hangers. In particular it relates to a novel garment hanger that is adapted to support a plurality of garment articles in a predetermined relationship.

In the display of garment articles, it is important that such articles be arranged with respect to each other in such manner as to present an attractive and enticing appearance to the viewer in the hope and with the expectation that the presentation of the garment articles will induce the viewer into purchasing the same. With this purpose in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger having portions thereof arranged in predetermined relationship as to support garment articles positioned thereabout such that the same will present an attractive appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger having support portions for garment articles of different waist sizes. Such support portions are arranged in predetermined staggered vertical relationship with each other to permit the waisted garment articles to be placed or adjusted in vertical tiered relationship with a jacket or blouse also supported on the garment hanger.

Still another object of the invention is to permit the easy positioning of waisted garment articles about the support portions of the hanger, such support portions having surfaces that will enable the quick removal of the garment from the hanger simply by applying a tug on the garment article to dislodge and remove the waist of the same from about the supporting surfaces of the hanger.

Still another object and feature of the invention is the provision of a garment hanger made of resilient material that is adapted to bend or flex when a slight pulling or tugging is applied to a waisted garment supported thereabout to permit the waist portion of such garment to be dislodged and removed from the support surfaces of the hanger.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in the structures and arrangements hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the garment hanger according to the teaching of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the garment hanger shown in FIG. 1 and depicting its manner of use, and

FIG. 3 is a cross section of FIG. 2 taken along lines 3-3.

Referring now to the drawing, the garment hanger there shown and generally identified by the numeral is a hollow or empty form constructed of a continuous, unbroken length of pliable resilient material. The material employed permits the portions of the hanger to flex or bend when external forces are applied to its surfaces to be described.

The garment hanger 10 includes a shoulder support portion generally identified by the numeral 12. Shoulder support portion 12 comprises a pair of transversely extending shoulder members 14 connected together at their inner ends to an intermediate brace 16. A book shaped element is molded or formed integral with the brace 16 and serves as a suitable means by which the hanger may be suspended from any convenient rod or other external supporting element, not shown.

The unbroken length of pliable resilient material from which the hanger 10 is formed has defined in its lower extremity thereof a plurality of sets of waist support portions 20 and 22. The waist support portions 20 and 22 are connected in vertical tiered relationship and transversely staggered with respect to each other to define supports for garment articles having different waist sizes.

The upper waist support portion 20 comprises a set of horizontal support surfaces 24 and 26 of relatively short length that are transversely spaced from each other to form a support for a waist of a garment article. The lower waist support portion 22 comprises a set of horizontal support surfaces 28 and 30 of relatively short length that are also transversely spaced from each other. The transverse spacing of the support surfaces 28 and 30 of the support portion 22 is greater than that of the support surfaces 24 and 26 of the support portion 20. Hence, the lower set of support surfaces 28 and 30 are adapted to support garment articles whose waist diameter or opening is greater than those garment articles that may be supported on the surfaces 24 and 26 of the upper portion 20.

Each of the transversely disposed shoulder members 14 terminates in arms 32 and 34 that slope transversely downward and inward to connect the surfaces 24 and 26 in a predetermined vertical spaced relationship from the shoulder portion 12. The surfaces 24 and 26 terminate in outward and downward transversely disposed sloping displacement surfaces 36 and 38 respectively. The sloping surfaces 36 and 38 are connected by short vertical arms 40 and inwardly directed arms 42 to maintain the waist support portion 22 and the surfaces 28 and 30 thereof in predetermined vertical tiered spaced relationship and transverse outward relationship with respect to the waist support portion 20 thereabove. The surfaces 28 and 30 each terminate in displacement surfaces 44 and 46 that slope transversely outward and downward therefrom. Vertical arms 48 and inwardly disposed connectors 50 cooperate with a transverse bar 52 to complete the enclosure of the hanger form.

In actual practice, a garment article 54, having a narrowed waist 56 shown in dash lines in FIG. 2 of the drawing is normally positioned over an appropriate one of the two sets of waist support portions 20 or 22 according to the diameter of the opening of the waist 56. In the present invention the drawing depicts the waist 56 of the garment article 54 positioned about the support portion 20 and engaged or supported on the surfaces 24 and 26 thereof.

The resilient or flexible nature of the material of the garment hanger 10 enables the easy removal of the garment 54 therefrom in the manner shown in FIG. 2. Inasmuch as the garment hanger 10 may be hung or suspended from any convenient element by the hook 18 thereof, the garment article 54 may be grasped at its sides as shown in the drawing. Thereafter, a slight downward tugging or manual pressure applied to the sides of the garment 54 will serve to transmit a transverse force that is applied to the sloping displacement surfaces 36 and 38 thereof to cause the hanger form 10 to bow or be displaced transversely inward. As shown in FIG. 2 the transverse bar 52 bows downward thereby permitting a reduction in the transverse spacing between the horizontal support surfaces 24 and 26 on which the waist 56 of the garment is supported.

Although the dash line position of the hanger shown in FIG. 2 is slightly exaggerated, this exaggeration is purposeful in order to more clearly depict the movement that occurs. The transverse inward displacement of the surfaces 24 and 26 and also of the displacement sloping surfaces 36 and 38 thus permits the garment 54 to move downward to enable the waist portion 56 thereof to be dislodged and removed from the support surfaces 24 and 26 for displacement downwardly along the sloping surfaces 36 and 38.

Substantially the same movement of the resilient hang er form occurs when the waist 56 of the garment 54 is to be dislodged and removed from the support surfaces 28 and 30 of the waist support portion 22.

Thus, applicant has provided a hanger of very simple detail made of unitary construction and of a material that is sufficiently resilient or flexible to be plied or bent when transverse forces are exerted thereon at certain predetermined portions thereof. At the same time, however, the instant garment hanger is sturdy in construction. It requires no intermediate cross bars or transverse bars between the horizontal support surfaces 24, 26 or 28, 30 to add rigidity thereto other than the transverse bar 52 that serves to connect and enclose the extreme lower portion of the garment hanger to define a complete unity hanger form of unbroken construction.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger formed of resilient material com prising a pair of transversely extending shoulders for supporting the shoulders of a garment positioned thereover, arms extending downward from the end of each of said shoulders, each of said arms terminating in transversely spaced first horizontal surfaces extending transversely outward to define a support of relatively short length, the transverse space between said first horizontal surfaces being less than the transverse extent of said shoulders, second horizontal surfaces of relatively short length transversely spaced from each other and associated with a respective one of each of said first horizontal surfaces and disposed transversely outward therefrom, means including outward and downward sloping surface means connecting said respective first and second horizontal surfaces in said association, said second horizontal surfaces each terminating in outward and downward sloping surface means, transverse means flexible -to decrease said transverse spacing of said first and second horizontal surfaces in response to a transversely inward force exerted on said sloping surfaces, means connecting together said last named sloping surface means with said transverse means, and hook means between said shoulder to suspend the garment hanger.

2. A garment hanger formed of resilient material comprising a hook by which said garment hanger may be suspended, a transverse shoulder support portion connected with and disposed on opposite sides of said hook for supporting the shoulders of a garment positioned thereover, a plurality of supporting portions for waisted garment articles one of which is of less transverse extent than said shoulder support portion, each one of said waist supporting portions being spaced in predetermined vertical relationship from said shoulder support portion and from each other, each of said support portions including a set of transversely spaced horizontal surfaces, the transverse space between each of said horizontal surfaces in one of said sets being greater than the transverse space of said horizontal surfaces of the next vertically higher set of horizontal surfaces, each one of said horizontal surfaces of said sets terminating in a surface sloping transversely outward and downward therefrom, and means including said sloping surfaces and arm means to connect said sets of support portion in vertical relationship with each other and with said shoulder support portion.

3. A garment hanger as in claim 2, a transverse bar extending between the lower of said support portions to connect the same together and to define an enclosed garment hanger form.

4. A garment hanger comprising a unitary form of resilient material including a shoulder support portion for supporting the shoulders of a garment positioned thereover, means intermediate the ends of said shoulder support to suspend the garment hanger, a set of transversely spaced horizontally disposed surfaces narrower than said shoulder support portion, each of said surfaces terminating in an outward and downward sloping surface, and a second set of horizontally disposed surfaces, each of said second set of surfaces terminating in an outward and downward sloping surface and being transversely spaced from each other a distance greater than said first mentioned surfaces, said form of resilient material being adapted to flex to decrease the transverse space between said sets of horizontally disposed surfaces in response to a transversely inward force exerted on said loping surfaces by a downward pull of a garment supported on one of said sets of horizontally disposed surfaces in removing the same therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,045,848 Geer June 30, 1936 2,620,954 Lundman Dec. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 540,110 Canada Apr. 30, 1957 

